2018 Ford Expedition first drive, in Malibu CA towing trailers

All-New Ford Expedition Full-Size SUV

Ford flew me to Malibu California to drive the all-new 2018 Expedition and 2018 Mustang. It was rough in Malibu driving along the California Pacific Coast Highway in a Mustang and then an Expedition. Stopping at Venice Beach to see what you see on television. Sandy beaches, tan bodies, roller skates and such. But someone has to do it, so I put up with the plane ride, traffic jam at LAX and all the honking horns from fellow drivers.

The new 2018 Expedition with the only engine choice, 3.5L Eco Boost V-6 twin turbo with 400 horsepower and 480 foot pounds of torque like the F150. The Platinum, top package gets a little more power out of the Eco Boost. New is the 10-speed auto like the F150 and aluminum skin like the F150. The EL package is replaced with MAX for the longer version. This gives you larger second row doors and sliding seats. Captain chairs will give you seat belts for seven, middle roll bench seats means seats for eight. The new 10-speed tranny is controlled with a knob, big knob. Ram uses a shift knob in 1500 with 8-speed. Still not use to shifting a knob back and forth from drive to reverse to get out of a snowbank. No I didn’t see any snow in California, just the snow covering my truck at DIA.

We towed CM horse trailers weighed down to 5500 lbs which is what the Expedition is rated for without weight distributing hitch. And a 6500 lb Airstream RV trailer. The Expedition is 4 wheel independent suspension. This makes them ride better than mono beam leaf spring suspensions on trucks. Also this allows for a deeper rear floor giving the third seat more leg room.

Independent rear suspensions with coil springs are known to move more with a trailer. Not something I liked. To solve that problem with trailer sway, this model Expedition with the FX4 off-road package, has electronic limited-slip rear differential. This electronic LS rear differential controls sway with a trailer. And it works well. Lots of curves in Malibu, the roads I mean and I tested trailer control vigorously with the new Expedition. With 9300 lb. trailering capacity on the 4×2 and 9200 lb. capacity on the 4×4, I think this will be a good choice for trailering. I’ll know more when I can max them out with trailers in our Rockies. The integrated brake controller is higher up in the dash than the F150. On the F150 I have to look for it.

According to Todd Hoevener, Expedition chief engineer, the 2018 Expedition has a higher belt-line, more angle to the pillars, more functional luggage rack, new door inserts that I like, new dash and grill. Many of the styling changes are related to the look of the F150, but the F150 lost 750 lbs when it gained the aluminum skin, the Expedition just lost 300 lbs with an aluminum skin. The power sliding middle row seat and more computers and modules used up some of the weight savings. More options with the 4×4 lets you pick a terrain setting or sport mode. 10-speed tranny is smooth. The rear compartment is like a transformer, it has compartments and shelves that fold, lift and popup. With middle row captain chairs, you can leave a child seat in them and fold and slide them forward. USB ports in every row and a rear seat entertainment that can stream live cable or satellite television. A few more interior handles helps climbing in and a flat floor makes it a very usable SUV.

Expedition MAX Platinum 4×4 MSRP is $78,545 to a low end of $48,095 for XL 4×2

Gen-Y Hitch heavy duty adjustable drawbar for today’s powerful trailering trucks: These steel adjustable, multi-ball, multi-height, pintle, or weight distributing hitch is the highest trailer rated hitch I’ve seen. The one I’m using from Gen-Y Hitch is rated for a 16,000 lb. trailer with a 2 inch shank. For Class V receiver, 2.5 inch shank, trailer rating goes up to 20,000 lbs. Their newest hitch is the Torsion Flex Hitch that isolates how your trailer bounces verses your truck for a smoother ride. Read the review….Weigh-Safe: Do you know your trailer tongue weight, asks the judge? On a bumper pull trailer, if you have too little tongue weight, the trailer can sway and be dangerous. If you have too much trailer tongue weight, your truck or SUV will squat excessively, aim your headlights to the stars and stress your trucks rear axle, brakes and suspension. What you need to know….

Stable Boy Aluminum Modular Horse Stalls for your RV Toy Hauler: You can haul ATV’s, motorcycles, snowmobiles & golf carts. So why not use a RV toy hauler to haul horses? Imagine a 5th wheel RV, walking up to the bedroom, STANDING around the bed. The full story…The Fuel Box and new Dual Fuel Box: for tools and extra fuel to stay on the road longer. I like good tools, a tool box and fuel tank company in California makes this quality combo all in the US. It’s called The Fuel Box by Zylstra. The fuel tank is separate from the tool box.... Read more…Hyndsight Vision Systems, The Review…. the versatile on board camera you’ve been waiting for. We tried it out backing to a trailer, monitoring horses inside the trailer and watching traffic behind the horse trailer. I’m a fan of wireless camera’s. About the most useful tool you can find. We like the backup cameras on the new trucks we review. But they don’t stay on, as soon as you go forward, they shut off. Hyndsight stays on The Review….Tuson Sway Control, ultimate trailer sway control for safer trailer towing. A module that controls sway on bumper pull trailers. It will actually steer the trailer left and right to keep the trailer towing straight. More

The Flip-Over Ball gooseneck hitch converts to a smooth bed in seconds. Just rotate the handle and Flip the ball over. In seconds you can have a level bed for all those jobs when an ordinary hitch ball is always in the way. More...

Another short bed solution. Short bed truck hitch. Is it for you? See the story, Click for more...

25 to 50% longer tire life. Stop tire cupping, vibration and premature wear on those expensive truck, RV & trailer tires. Centramatic automatic wheel balancers have been saving money on tires for semi-trucks for over twenty years. Now you can automatically balance your tires, wheels, hub and rotors or drums while you drive. More

We decided to have our own towing test truck. Now we are going to keep the products on our own truck to be able to give a longer review and how things standup long term. Rest of the report

MrTruck.com Presents: New for the "EZ Connector Horse Expo Tour" Updates from each event, pictures & commentary, With the latest trailer safety and technology accessories on exhibit in our tour, come by our display. We'll be displaying some helpful technology for safe towing. Click for the "Tour" schedule,